Jason had a cracking day in the sun and hailstones. In the morning he visited Shapemaster exercise equipment in Honley and Chickadee Poultry near Hade Edge who take eggs and chicks into schools to educate about poultry. Jason then spent the afternoon with the Yorkshire Water spillway project team visiting Ramsden, Brownhill, Yateholme and Riding Wood reservoirs to see the completed or nearly completed work. They next visited Butterley spillway near Marsden where Jason stressed the importance of saving the historical character of the listed spillway and fully involving the community in the project. Jason ended a busy day as speaker at the Honley Civic Society.

Jason had a typically busy weekend. After meeting a concerned local resident to look at the latest spate of graffiti vandalism in the valley, Jason enjoyed a trip to the wonderful Holmfirth indoor market where he met stall holders and the Kirklees Officer responsible for local markets. He then dropped in to see the vibrant Fairtrade Tropical Tea Party at the Civic Hall before heading off to the Galpharm Stadium to cheer on Huddersfield Town to victory in Simon Grayson’s first game in charge.

The night before Jason spoke in the debate on Town Centres and High Streets following the Mary Portas review. Jason highlighted the Tesco planning application for Holmfirth and the success of Lidget Street in Lindley. You can read his contribution to the debate here.

He visited J B Schofield and Sons in Linthwaite to hear the views of a local scrap metal merchant. It is his view that the criminals must be punished, not reputable businesses.

Yorkshire will benefit from electrification of the Transpennine Express rail route and there is £1bn more for the Regional Growth Fund which has already helped Yorkshire businesses. The Chancellor also announces the largest ever cash rise for pensioners and he cancelled the 3p a litre rise in fuel duty due in January.

This evening I led an Adjournment Debate on Empty Homes. At a time when so many families are struggling to find suitable accommodation, and developers are eager to build on our beautiful countryside, it is more important that we bring empty homes back into use. There are thousands of empty homes across Kirklees and hundreds of thousands across the country.

I have been working closely with ‘Restoration Man’ George Clarke on this issue. His 2-part series ‘The Great British Property Scandal‘ will air at 9pm on Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th December on Channel 4.

For more information, please visit www.savegrimescarvalley.com.

British Waterways recently installed a new ‘No Swimming’ sign at the reservoir between Marsden and Slaithwaite and it has sparked anger from local residents who have used the reservoir for swimming for decades. Jason invited British Waterways to meet the local action group at Sparth. Now the two sides are trying to reach a compromise.